CLASSICS

Classics is the term used commonly for the study of Ancient Greek or Roman civilisation including their history, language and literature. Below, you will find a list of things that you could use to learn more about Classics, or to improve a future application to university. The Super Academy also offer a free short course: The Myths of Ancient Greece, which comprises 6 lessons and is available to download below. 

Books; An easy and enjoyable introductory text is Mythos by Stephen Fry, 

more weighty texts that you should consider include the original classic poems Iliad and Odyssey by Homer 

Aeneid by Virgil

others to consider are the works of Tom Holland - Persian Fire, Rubicon, Dynasty and others

anything by respected scholar Mary Beard, including her book about Roman History, SPQR

The historical novels of Robert Harris - Imperium, Lustrum, and dictator. 

Podcasts; The History of Ancient Greece Podcast (available on Spotify etc); BBC Radio 4's In Our Time  (searchable by era including Ancient Greek, Ancient Rome etc); Myths and Legends by Jason Weiser; 

YouTube Channels; Crash Course World Mythology;  Foxwede History;

Other Video; Netflix is a constant source of new material and worth searching, for example Roman Empire (15+) is part documentary part drama, whilst BBC iPlayer often features good documentaries by respected Classicists.

Competitions; The University of Cambridge Faculty of Classics run around 6 essay competitions with Classical themes.  Oxford run a competition for state school students only. Specific Colleges in Oxford offer additional competitions such as; The Mary Renault Prize (Classics); St John's College offer several prizes (return to the site to find details as they emerge). UCL ran a Greek and Latin essay competition (check back for details for this year).

Events and Activities; Attending Classic plays is a fantastic way to learn, and then comparing the play you have seen to the original as written can generate some interesting observations, check your local theatres for listings. Things that you might consider doing are to start a Classics Club in your school looking at plays or discussing myths, you might start a Classics Drama Club or you might record some short lectures for younger pupils.